Lightshot: The Best Way To Take Screenshots

Every article which I write needs to be accompanied by images. These images showcase the app that I’m trying to explain and allow readers to understand the article easier. Most of these images come in the form of screenshots which give an exact replication of what you would see when you use the app. However, recently I became annoyed by the tireless standard process of print screening then loading into an editor to perfect and resize the image. This method was long and annoying.

Then I found LightShot, an app which makes the screenshot experience far easier. By collecting the screenshot and editor together in the same package my life became a lot easier. Read on to find out how to use Lightshot.

First Steps

Firstly, Lightshot is available for Windows and Mac computers making it accessible to just about anyone. To download Lightshot visit this webpage: Lightshot Main Page. The download took me roughly thirty seconds so you should be able to get up and running quickly.

Lightshot is simple to download.

I love how easy Lightshot is to download and how little space it takes up. Once downloaded, Lightshot will then integrate with all of your screenshots.

Using Lightshot

To access Lightshot you have two different options. The first is going to All Programs and finding the shortcut or using one on your desktop — which could take time. Although, a much quicker method is far more accessible. By simply clicking the print screen button the app automatically starts and you don’t have to do anything else.

After clicking Print Screen your screen will turn a dark shade of gray (which can be exited by clicking ESC.) You can then drag out the area which you would like to screen print, meaning you won’t need to go through the post-process of cropping. Another little feature I love here is that you are given the dimensions in the top left corner of your crop box. For articles I use one specific width of picture and through this handy utility I can always get the correct size first time.

The interface for taking screenshots is brilliant.

Once you have specified your certain area you’ll notice that around the edges you have a few different options which are in two different sections. The first bar on the right side gives you many different sharing options. These include: sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Email or even the ability to search for similar images on Google. Each one of these provides the user with the opportunity to quickly interact with all of their social networks.

The second bar includes all of the settings you need to save and perfect pictures. The first is “Edit Online” and selecting this takes the screenshot to an online editor, (I will look at this individually in the next section.) Secondly, you have the option to upload your screenshot to the Lightshot server. This process takes about five seconds then you’re provided with a web link. Allowing you to store the images online really helps save hard drive space.

Uploading pictures to the server is a great way to save time and space.

The next three options are: Print, Copy and Save (to computer.) As you can see what started off as a simple app has soon become something you can do quite a lot with. Lightshot has definitely made the process much more efficient.

The Editor

If you do decide to use the Lightshot editor you should still have all the abilities you have in your standard editor. Unless you’re using advanced software of course. Here you can do all the basic alterations such as cropping and resizing then you have a wealth of other options to pick from. These include layering tools and different filters.

This editor is more than capable of doing all the simple procedures.

With this editor I’m able to do everything I need without having to download a separate program. This makes my life much easier.

Plugins

As well as being an app which you download on your computer, Lightshot can also work as a plugin for your browser. This is available for Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer and Opera. With this plugin there is no need to download the full application to your computer. I’ve installed the plugin on Firefox and with it I have the Lightshot logo in the top right. By simply clicking this I can do everything I could before.

Of course, if you are taking screenshots of anything other than web pages you will need the app on your computer.

Compared to Similar Programs

There are other apps which do the same thing as Lightshot. Two of these are: Greenshot and Skitch, both apps are also capable of taking screenshots in a easy way. Although, the factor which makes Lightshot so special for me is that it’s simple.

Unlike the other two apps, Lightshot has made the process easy and completely uncomplicated. Taking screenshots shouldn’t be a hard task to achieve and the developers have obviously understood this.

Wrap-Up

For those of us who need to take screenshots frequently then Lightshot is perfect. It has the perfect mix of efficiency and quality which combines together to make my workflow far easier. Even if you don’t need screenshots on a regular basis, Lightshot is still worth using. The majority of us are on social networking websites too and with Lightshot’s built in sharing options, communicating with your followers and friends can become far easier.

All in all, Lightshot has a very simple concept but performs it to an extremely high standard. If you’re still using your standard “Print Screen” and Image Editor you should really give Lightshot a try.

How do you take your screenshots? Do you use Lightshot already or something completely different? Let us know below!